Robert Jamal Gamby

Book Jacket Redesign

Typographic Systems

Spring 2013

“A really good book cover has to work regardless of what it’s about, on a visceral and emotional level.”

– Chip Kidd

Project Brief:

The challenge for this project is to redesign a book jacket for (a), a book

that I have read, and (b), a book that is not already famous for its design.

By the end of the project I will produce three different design concepts

for the same book.

cover 6 x 9in, spine .75in, 6 x 9in, flaps 2.75in (final flat size is 18.25 x 9

inches) printed on Epson Heavyweight 13 x19 with a color, pattern or im-

age printed on the back

Final Size:

About the book:I have chosen to redesign one of favorite books, Beneath The Underdog,

an imaginative autobiography by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.

Written throughout the 1960s, Mingus’s sprawling, exaggerated, quasi-auto-

biography, Beneath the Underdog: His World as composed by Mingus, was

published in 1971. Written in a “stream of consciousness” style, it covered

several aspects of Mingus’s life that had previously been off-record.

In addition to his musical and intellectual proliferation, Mingus goes into

great detail about his perhaps overstated sexual exploits. He claims to have

had over 31 affairs over the course of his life (including 26 prostitutes in

one sitting). This does not include any of his five wives (he claims to have

been married to two of them simultaneously). In addition, he asserts that

he held a brief career as a pimp. This has never been confirmed.

Mingus’s autobiography also serves as an insight into his psyche, as well as

his attitudes about race and society. Autobiographic accounts of abuse at

the hands of his father from an early age, being bullied as a child, his re-

moval from a white musician’s union, and grappling with disapproval while

married to white women and other examples of the hardship and prejudice.

About the Author:A wild, lyrical, and anguished autobiography, in which Charles Mingus

pays short shrift to the facts but plunges to the very bottom of his psyche,

coming up for air only when it pleases him. He takes the reader through his

childhood in Watts, his musical education by the likes of Louis Armstrong,

Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker, and his prodigious appetites--intel-

lectual, culinary, and sexual. The book is a jumble, but a glorious one, by a

certified American genius.

About the Characters:

About the Objects:

Mingus Word List:

Fragmented, Large, Imposing, Complex, Strong, Impulsive, Unstable, Eclectic,

Electric, Dreamer, Outsider, Mongrel, Worldly, Childish, Determined, Insane,

Tortured, Explosive, Genius, Individual, Menacing, Powerful, High-Yellow, Exotic,

Dangerous, Conflicted, Fractured, Displaced, Passionate, Sharp, Abrasive, Lum-

bering, Detached, Removed, Idealist, Abused, Self-Destructive, Loner, Gangster,

Pimp, Ferocious, Fire, Earthquake, Fragile, Larger-Than-Life, Artistic, Confused,

Damgaged, Lost, Serious, Red, Intellectual, Gentle, Trusting, Easily-Influenced,

Driven, Depressed, Realist, Eccentric, Aloof, Confrontational, Imposing, Mighty,

Brute, Forceful, Stubborn, Broken, Honest, Challenging

Duke Ellington:

Role: Foil

Appearance: Clean,

Distinguished, Elegant

Personality: Charming,

Cool, Calm

Verdict: Likeable

Charles Mingus:

Role: Foil

Appearance: Rough,

Personality: Volatile,

Conflicted, Loyal

Verdict: Likeable

Upright Bass:

Large, warm, soothing,

strong, foundation, elegant,

companion, muse, tool,

anchor, calling, life, crutch,

fence, chains,

Piano:

refuge, solitude, safe, vast,

home, canvas, composition,

music, melody,

About the Setting:

Quotes From the Author:“Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the compli-

cated simple.”

“Had I been born in a different country or had I been born white, I am sure

I would have expressed my ideas long ago. Maybe they wouldn’t have been

as good because when people are born free?I can’t imagine it, but I’ve got

a feeling that if it’s so easy for you, the struggle and the initiative are not as

strong as they are for a person who has to struggle and therefore has more

to say.”

Watts:

home, slow, behind,

divided, incubator warm,

dangerous, racist, torturing,

love, abusive, poor

Belleview:

dark, lonely, tortured, cen-

tered, low, bottom, below,

hidden, lost,

New York:

large, fast, flashy, corrupt, det-

rimental, money, avant-garde,

cool, sexy, busy, party, high-

class, rich, work, intelligent

“You can’t improvise on nothing man; you’ve gotta improvise on something.”

Book Cover Examples:A great way to start is to find examples of book covers that I feel are suc-

cessful. I also want to focus on finding a wide variety of covers that differ

in style and execution. Finally, I’ll need to analyize what the cover is com-

municating in order to understand how to create that in my design.

Photo Based:

Based on: Character

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Photoshop

Feeling: intrigue

Based on: Character

Genre: Traditional

Execution: Image altered

w/ black rectangle

Feeling: Deceptive

Based on: Character

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Juxtaposition

Feeling: Sentimental

Based on: Character

Genre: Romantic

Execution: Placement of

objects in relation to eachother

and the space

Feeling: Sentimental

Illustration Based:

Based on: Setting

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Cut Paper

Feeling: Loneliness

Based on: Character

Genre: Humorous

Execution: Hand-Drawn

Feeling: Sentimental

Based on: Character

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Wood Block Print

Feeling: Cinical

Based on: The Story

Genre: Vintange

Execution: Painted

Feeling: Death

Based on: Character

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Wood Block Print

Feeling: Cinical

Type Based:

Illustration Based:

Based on: Conflict

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Hand-made

Feeling: Pensive

Based on: Setting

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Hand-made

Feeling: Anxiety

Based on: Character

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Painted

Feeling: Trapped

Based on: Setting

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Screen Print

Feeling: Fear

Juxtapostion:

Based on: Character

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Juxtaposition

Feeling: Conflict

Based on: Object

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Icons

Feeling: Mysterious

Based on: Character

Genre: Retro

Execution: Juxtaposed

Feeling: Humorous

Based on: Character

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Hand-Drawn

Feeling: Dramatic

Collage & Cut Paper:

Based on: Object

Genre: Contemporary

Execution: Collage

Feeling: Serious

Based on: Object

Genre: Vintage

Execution: Cut

and Folded paper

Feeling: Playful

Reference Images:The next step is to search from images drawing from the list of key words

that I identfied from my word lists of character, object and place. These

images do not reflect the final outcome of my design. They only serve as a

reference to generate ideas from.

Visual Library:I want to compile of library of images and photographs to use on my book

jacket design. Again, I am keeping my list of key words in mind while se-

lecting these images. It is also important to note that these images will not

be used as they are. They will re-purposed and modified in some way.

Book Cover Sketches:For the initial sketches I am focused on capturing the key words in the

overall look and feel of the design. I also sticking to the three categories of

character, object and place.

Character:

Character:

Object:

Place:

First Pages:The purpose of the first page is to continue to the tone, mood, and/or ideas

of the book jacket design. The challenge lies in it being limited to black

& white. This process of creating first pages also allows me explore type

treatments that might have an impact on the book jacket design.

Book Jacket Sketches:Through critical evaluation with the help of my peers I am able to narrow

my cover sketches down to nine directions. Now I need to take these nine

cover directions and translate them into full book jacket designs including

the cover, spine, back and flaps.

Book Jacket Refinement:After another round of critical evaluation I have picked five directions to

refine. In this case the majority of the backs of my book jacket designs are

more effective than the current covers.

Endpaper Sketches:Endpapers are on the inside of the book jacket and present the opprotunity

to extend the narritive of book jacket design and/or add an element of

surprise for the viewer’s eyes. I start sketching by experienting with dif-

ferent ideas of patterns and images that work effectively with the five book

jackets I have chosen to refine.

First Pages, again:At this point in the process it is important to revisit the first pages and

design them with the five bookjacket designs in mind. I am creating cohe-

sion between first page and book jacket by using the same typefaces and

mimicing other design elements from the book jackets.

Final Refinements:From the five directions I have chosen the three final directions that in-

clude book jacket, endpaper, and first page. With the final directions iden-

tified it is time to go back and refine further. I also have the opprotunity to

create a variation for each of the three final book jacket designs.

Final Three Design Directions: